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Boehner 'insulted' by Putin op-ed

She was referring to a concluding line in Putin’s piece that was taking issue with the idea of American exceptionalism in which he wrote, “We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”

Putin has come under international criticism after signing a law last year that bans the encouragement of homosexuality. Activists in Russia have been arrested for “spreading propaganda” promoting homosexuality to youths, which the law prohibits.

Pelosi also took issue with Putin disputing the idea of American exceptionalism.

“I totally disagree,” she said. “America is an exceptional country.”

Pelosi had softer criticism for Putin than some of her colleagues. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said Putin’s op-ed made him “want to vomit.” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he was “insulted.”

Pelosi spoke to more specifics in the piece, calling Putin’s argument that a strike would weaken the United Nations “interesting.”

“One of the reasons that the U.N. has not been effective in Syria is because of fear of a Russian veto,” Pelosi said.